Rooistes

[gweir]

Time to get started with our build thread.  

This build involves one 1974 Mini Clubman Estate and 3 Weirs: my dad Stephen (70), myself (Gregory 46) and my son Stephen (15). I am grateful for the privilege for the three of us to work together on this project. 

This car was my very first car.  I rebuilt the car with my Dad in 1989.  I used the Mini daily until 2002, when I put the car in storage when I went to further my studies in Australia.  

This is what the car looked like before we started with the rebuild. 

     

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In 2015 we started very slowly by stripping the car.

This year (2016)we decided to put in more effort. 

In July 2016 we had the vehicle's paint stripped with "dustless sandblasting".  This was very effective.  Just a word of caution for the uninitiated: dustless sandblasting is not dustless.  The process combines water and media (fine glass particles) but a huge amount of dust remains behind.  It is also very loud.  The advantage is that all of the paint is removed and the metal is left bare.  

   

   

   

   

Video of Estate after sandblasting


We sanded the small areas where the dustless sandblasting did not reach and sprayed primer as soon as the car's surface was dry. 

   

The body sustained some damage when a vehicle rear ended me in 2000.  I had to replace the rear doors.  The new second hand doors were slightly rusted.  The metal around the rear wheel arches was also damaged and required a bit of attention.  The rest of the body had very little rust.  

The plan is paint the Mini red again.  That is after all why he is called "Rooistes". 

For now we have diverted our attention to the engine.  At one stage Rooistes had a 1275 engine in it, but this engine did not survive the 19 year old version of myself.  The post-mortem suggested that the engine overheated due to a stuck thermostat.  My size 11 lead filled right foot and poor knowledge of car maintenace had nothing to do with it.     At that time (1989) we hastily overhauled an 1100 engine which was to remain the power source of this daily drive for the following 13 years. 

The current plan is to for Mini gold with 1275+ and whatever I can afford to squeeze into the car and out of my budget.  The initial plan to go the 16valve route was abandoned when we realised that Stephen Jnr would be driving the car as well.  This also contributed to the decision to convert to disc brakes as soon as possible. 

The windows were in reasonable shape, but some scratch marks did not respond to my best efforts.  I decided to replace the windows if I could afford it. Surprisingly the cost of replacing the side windows was less expensive than having them professionally polished.   Window supplier thread

In the meanwhile I have started cleaning various parts.

   

   

   

   

[Jared Mk3]

Keen to see how you get on with this

[gweir]

(Thank you for your encouraging words Jared.  I think we gained a bit of momentum after the paint was removed.  Due to time constraints and other obligations this rebuild has already become far too long.)

A few other items that were cleaned and polished. A few of these will be chrome or zinc plated. 

   

The rear bumpers (2 x 1/4) were damaged in the aforementioned accident in 2000.  These were impossible to get hold of.  I ordered a new pair from the UK, just to find out that they do not fit the Clubman Estate.  I think they were made for the Traveller / Pickup with a bullnose.  I ended up cleaning the old battered ones as well as I could and took them into a panel beater that can actually beat panels.  Hopefully these can be restored to former glory.  

I tried to have the Clubman grill restored, but even the experts don't want to touch it due to the soft material (? aluminium) that it is made of.  My own attempts at making a grill was not successful. It bordered on hilarious. I will post pictures in the jokes section as soon as I can muster the courage.

I had the fuel tank and the radiator cleaned and serviced at Silverton Radiators. I also had new keys cut for all the locks. We were able to get most of the rubbers and seals from Pro Auto Rubber in Boksburg. I have received the front seats back from Colin Collins who is in the process of sorting out the rest of the upholstery as well.  Black leather seats with all black interior is the plan.  I had a rear number plate backing plate custom made at Steelman Engineering out of polished stainless steel.  I will post pictures when I get these back. 

I wanted to put Mini disc brakes in the front, but apparently unicorns appear more frequently.  We have decided to go for the Golf disc brakes which implies 13" wheels.  Minilites here we come. The suspension will be upgraded at the same time.  The rear brakes will be serviced. 

The Smith's speedometer and rev-counter will be professionally serviced and calibrated and installed into our custom dash board.  

I bought a new battery.  I also bought a new Sony sound system with Bluetooth.  The plan is to install the sound system and speakers into a box under the rear seat or into the side pockets.  

I bought sound deadening and heat resistant fabric for the firewall and the floor boards.  i also bought rubberising for the chassis.  

This Friday we will take the engine block to the engineers.  Obviously this is the crucial part of the build and I will refrain from interfering with the experts (Dad + Engineer + input from Dez).  I suggested that we get Dez to take this part over, but my Dad insists that this is the best and most exciting part of the build. 

Things are slowly coming together, but we still have a long way to go!

[Jared Mk3]

My suggestion - put some sound deadening on the roof as well. It will help reduce vibration, thus allowing a quieter drive. The same goes for the side panels by the rear seat and in the rear section. Large panels = vibration, even with the ribbing on the roof.

[gweir]

Thanks Jared. The sound deadening on the roof is a good idea. It might also provide some thermal protection during the hot Pretoria summer days.

[Vinay-RS]

Good luck with the rebuild Gregory. Glad to see that you've gone to bare metal and are putting time and effort into each of the components. The freshly polished and refurbished parts look great.

Have you had a look at the smaller 7.5" discs for your mini so that you can use a set of 10" wheels?

[gweir]

Good luck with the rebuild Gregory. Glad to see that you've gone to bare metal and are putting time and effort into each of the components. The freshly polished and refurbished parts look great.

Have you had a look at the smaller 7.5" discs for your mini so that you can use a set of 10" wheels?

Thank you for your encouragement Vinay. My initial plan was to stick to 10" wheels, but the scarcity of 7.5" discs and cost was the reasoning behind going the other route. If you know of 7.5" discs please let me know.

I collected my side windows today. I like the tint and hope it will look good on the Mini.  I am still looking for a new windscreen if anyone knows where I can get one.

   

   

[Jared Mk3]

Those windows are nice!

[gweir]

I dropped my front bumper at Sheffield's Auotoplating in Johannesburg today. Need to wait 2 weeks.

A few items removed from my shopping list today including front disk brakes (VWGolf), shock absorbers, water pump, etc. And loads of free advice from Dez

   

Plan for next week:
Source Clubman Grill
Take Block for engineering
Source pistons
Spray front subframe gloss black
Rebuild front suspension
Install disk brakes
Source 13" wheels

[DomMINIque]

Where did you get those adaptor plates from?

I can help you with a new windscreen if you're interested.

Sean has a set of 6j wheels coming in, in the next few weeks if you're willing to wait a little.

Then I sprayed my subframe gloss black but i feel that it should have rather been matt black as it's really really shiny now. But just something for you to think about.